Published: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 at 9:46 p.m.

When talks of a proposed clock tower echoed downtown, a merchant with a penchant for restoration turned his eyes to another timepiece.

From its perch on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Main Street, the O.B. McClintock clock — a timeless sentinel with ticks too faint to hear and chimes that have grown silent — has kept watch over the district for 86 years. It hasn't always told the truth when it comes to telling time, but it does sing to historians a ballad of a time to be remembered.

Mark Ray of Dad's Collectible And Toy Store fell in love with the clock. As quiet as it stood, it called to him.

“I'm just kind of a historian, and to me it was absolutely a diamond in the rough,” he said. “We've got one of the premier downtowns. Why doesn't the clock match the rest of town?”

With streetscape improvements along the Main Street corridor coming to an end, Ray now looks hopefully to the people around him to help with a fundraising mission to restore the clock. He will appear before Hendersonville City Council Thursday night to update the board on what he has raised for the clock's restoration in hopes that city leaders will match the proceeds.

At the last council meeting, he told the board it could cost between $4,800 and $5,000 to restore the four-faced clock to its former glory. Ray had raised $375 as of Tuesday afternoon and was hoping for a $1,000 fašade grant and $500 from the city's Historic Preservation Commission to partially fund the project.

Hendersonville City Council “is willing to consider matching funds” for the clock's restoration if the community shows an interest through donations to the project, according to the city's website.

Upon its installment on the corner of the old Citizen's National Bank in 1927, the clock was heralded as a sign of “faith in the future growth of Hendersonville.”

Two years later, it marked the time of a stock market crash that plummeted America into its greatest depression. It signaled a time of peace at the end of World War II. It chimed for the hours of sockhops and street dances.

Through the best and worst of times, it kept pace with downtown in the hustle of its heyday, in the quiet hours of its desertion and in the quick steps of the “New Urbanism” movement that returned shoppers to Main Street.

The clock was designed by architect Erle Stillwell to match the design of the bank he also created on the corner, according to a May 2011 Times-News column by Stan Shelley.

It was one of many to have been made by O.B. McClintock Co. of Minneapolis, which specialized in making clocks for banks and financial institutions. The original clock was driven by a mechanical-electrical clock inside the bank, according to Ray.

“In 1993, apparently the original clock was beyond repair and it was decided to replace the electrical-mechanical clock with an electric timer system,” he said. But the timer system has now become less reliable and difficult to repair.

“Everybody that grew up here knows the McClintock clock,” Ray said. “It's just fascinating how much it's been a part of the community for approaching 90 years. Just about everybody's got a story about the clock.”

Old newspaper clippings reveal times when the clock had lost its chimes, when its inoperable faces were plastered over with advertisements, and the city's efforts to save it through the years.

The book, “Kermit Edney Remembers,” pays homage to the old timepiece: “It had four faces and chimed on the quarter hour. At a quarter past the hour, it would give the four-stroke Westminster peal. At half past the hour, the eight-stroke peal. At 45 minutes past the hour, what was called the 12-stroke reveille; and at each full hour, the 16-stroke Westminster chime, followed by the striking of the hour.”

The clock's original chime tubes were removed in 1993 and an electronic quartz chiming clock was added to provide a Westminster chime and hour strike signal, according to Ray.

Electronic chimes, set to ring every quarter hour, were restored on the clock a couple of months ago. On a quiet day, Ray said he can hear the bells chime two blocks away.

For the first time in 15 years, the clock is once again illuminated, casting a glow on Main Street from 7 p.m. to midnight, but more work will be needed to give the clock an accurate sense of time.

Two of its four faces tick close to the actual time. Another face falls about 35 minutes behind. The fourth clock, facing north toward construction on Main Street's 700 block, has lost its hands.

Its restoration would be led by Chapter 126 of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors. The new system will reboot electronically in power outages with a battery backup and will automatically switch over to keep pace with daylight saving time. Ray said it should require minimal maintenance.

The clock's exterior, including its green patina that makes it unique and gives it the old-world charm of historic Southern cities, will be kept as is, he said. “We're told (by the NAWCC) that is an extremely admirable clock for that patina.”

The clock's beauty continues to inspire artists today. Michelle Sparks, owner of Art M.O.B., plans to offer a special Canvas and Corks class dedicated to painting images of the old clock next month. Paintings from the class will be sold to raise money for the project.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held for the clock after its restoration, Ray said.

Checks for donations can be made out to “McClintock clock” and mailed to Dad's C.A.T.S. at 221 N. Main St., Hendersonville, NC 28792.

Ray said the clock's twin, recently restored by a citizen effort to save it, keeps time in Forest City.

<p>When talks of a proposed clock tower echoed downtown, a merchant with a penchant for restoration turned his eyes to another timepiece. </p><p>From its perch on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Main Street, the O.B. McClintock clock — a timeless sentinel with ticks too faint to hear and chimes that have grown silent — has kept watch over the district for 86 years. It hasn't always told the truth when it comes to telling time, but it does sing to historians a ballad of a time to be remembered.</p><p>Mark Ray of Dad's Collectible And Toy Store fell in love with the clock. As quiet as it stood, it called to him. </p><p>“I'm just kind of a historian, and to me it was absolutely a diamond in the rough,” he said. “We've got one of the premier downtowns. Why doesn't the clock match the rest of town?”</p><p>With streetscape improvements along the Main Street corridor coming to an end, Ray now looks hopefully to the people around him to help with a fundraising mission to restore the clock. He will appear before Hendersonville City Council Thursday night to update the board on what he has raised for the clock's restoration in hopes that city leaders will match the proceeds.</p><p>At the last council meeting, he told the board it could cost between $4,800 and $5,000 to restore the four-faced clock to its former glory. Ray had raised $375 as of Tuesday afternoon and was hoping for a $1,000 fašade grant and $500 from the city's Historic Preservation Commission to partially fund the project.</p><p>Hendersonville City Council “is willing to consider matching funds” for the clock's restoration if the community shows an interest through donations to the project, according to the city's website.</p><p><b.Chiming of the hour</b></p><p>Upon its installment on the corner of the old Citizen's National Bank in 1927, the clock was heralded as a sign of “faith in the future growth of Hendersonville.”</p><p>Two years later, it marked the time of a stock market crash that plummeted America into its greatest depression. It signaled a time of peace at the end of World War II. It chimed for the hours of sockhops and street dances.</p><p>Through the best and worst of times, it kept pace with downtown in the hustle of its heyday, in the quiet hours of its desertion and in the quick steps of the “New Urbanism” movement that returned shoppers to Main Street.</p><p>The clock was designed by architect Erle Stillwell to match the design of the bank he also created on the corner, according to a May 2011 Times-News column by Stan Shelley. </p><p>It was one of many to have been made by O.B. McClintock Co. of Minneapolis, which specialized in making clocks for banks and financial institutions. The original clock was driven by a mechanical-electrical clock inside the bank, according to Ray. </p><p>“In 1993, apparently the original clock was beyond repair and it was decided to replace the electrical-mechanical clock with an electric timer system,” he said. But the timer system has now become less reliable and difficult to repair.</p><p>“Everybody that grew up here knows the McClintock clock,” Ray said. “It's just fascinating how much it's been a part of the community for approaching 90 years. Just about everybody's got a story about the clock.”</p><p>Old newspaper clippings reveal times when the clock had lost its chimes, when its inoperable faces were plastered over with advertisements, and the city's efforts to save it through the years.</p><p>The book, “Kermit Edney Remembers,” pays homage to the old timepiece: “It had four faces and chimed on the quarter hour. At a quarter past the hour, it would give the four-stroke Westminster peal. At half past the hour, the eight-stroke peal. At 45 minutes past the hour, what was called the 12-stroke reveille; and at each full hour, the 16-stroke Westminster chime, followed by the striking of the hour.”</p><p>The clock's original chime tubes were removed in 1993 and an electronic quartz chiming clock was added to provide a Westminster chime and hour strike signal, according to Ray.</p><p>Electronic chimes, set to ring every quarter hour, were restored on the clock a couple of months ago. On a quiet day, Ray said he can hear the bells chime two blocks away.</p><p>For the first time in 15 years, the clock is once again illuminated, casting a glow on Main Street from 7 p.m. to midnight, but more work will be needed to give the clock an accurate sense of time.</p><p>Two of its four faces tick close to the actual time. Another face falls about 35 minutes behind. The fourth clock, facing north toward construction on Main Street's 700 block, has lost its hands. </p><p>Its restoration would be led by Chapter 126 of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors. The new system will reboot electronically in power outages with a battery backup and will automatically switch over to keep pace with daylight saving time. Ray said it should require minimal maintenance.</p><p>The clock's exterior, including its green patina that makes it unique and gives it the old-world charm of historic Southern cities, will be kept as is, he said. “We're told (by the NAWCC) that is an extremely admirable clock for that patina.”</p><p>The clock's beauty continues to inspire artists today. Michelle Sparks, owner of Art M.O.B., plans to offer a special Canvas and Corks class dedicated to painting images of the old clock next month. Paintings from the class will be sold to raise money for the project. </p><p>A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held for the clock after its restoration, Ray said.</p><p>Checks for donations can be made out to “McClintock clock” and mailed to Dad's C.A.T.S. at 221 N. Main St., Hendersonville, NC 28792.</p><p>Ray said the clock's twin, recently restored by a citizen effort to save it, keeps time in Forest City.</p><p>Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>